All language subtitles for Law Order True Crime S01E04 HDTV KILLERS.en

_

- sync and corrections by Zac -
- www.addic7ed.com -

[dramatic music]

♪

Defendants Erik and Lyle Menendez,

how do you plead?

- Not guilty.
- Not guilty.

Jerry told me everything.

You violated
the doctor-patient privilege.

She was at risk. We both were.

As I told you, Lyle had threatened me.

There were a series of sessions

between Dr. Oziel and the defendants.

I have ruled that none of these
communications are privileged.

Erik, what if I could
make the nightmares stop?

When I was five or six,

Dad would massage my penis
with his mouth.

Yesterday, he told me
when he turned 11,

his father started raping him.

As a mother, and a human being,

I believe it.

As a lawyer, I will believe it
when I can prove it.

♪

I never told anyone.

Dad said if anyone ever found out,
that something bad would happen to me.

How about Dr. Oziel?
Did you tell him?

No. He reported everything
back to my parents.

That was the arrangement.

How about after the murders?

[sighs]

Lyle and I made a deal
not to talk about it.

We didn't...
we didn't want anyone

to have a bad impression
of our parents.

I thought Dad stopped
after I confronted him.

That couldn't have been easy to do.

No. If I had known he was
still doing that to Erik,

I never would've gone to Princeton.

Never would've left him alone
in that house.

Lyle knew about your abuse.

He figured it out when I was 12.

That Dad was doing stuff to me.

Like rough stuff.

[somber music]

And he went up to Dad
and told him to stop, but...

Just made things worse.

What will happen
if you ever tell anyone again?

You'll hurt me.

Wrong!

What will I do?

You'll kill me.

That's right.

[dramatic music]

♪

[melancholy music]

I believed him.

I was nothing to him.

What about you, Lyle?

What about me, what?

[suspenseful music]

♪

[reporters clamoring]

Listen, we have kids
killing their parents

all the time
in South Central Los Angeles,

and nobody writes about that.

This is just another domestic murder
with a bit of glitz.

The signatures don't match.
Even I can see that.

Goodreau did not sign
the gun permit application.

Well, Les, go to forensics school

get yourself a degree,

then you can tell the experts
to go screw themselves.

Ugh.

Feel like the police gods
are laughing at us, Tommy.

12 months and all we've got
is the word of a complete nutjob.

[phone rings]

Zoeller. Go, go, go.

Hey, how's it going?

Yeah? Where is it?

Okay, thanks.

Erik's Ford Escort has been located.

It's in New Jersey.

Great. It'll take months
to get an out-of-state warrant.

[ominous music]

Not my way.

_
♪

[dramatic music]

[sirens wailing]

♪

License and registration, please.

Yes, sir, officer.

Did I do something wrong?

Registration's expired.

I have to take this vehicle
down to the station house.

Step out, please.

♪

[sighs]

Nothing, huh? He checked.

Tore the car apart,

right, okay, well,

send me the report.

I appreciate the help.

No gunpowder residue,
no blood traces.

- Ticket stubs for "Batman"?
- No.

Police gods are
really kicking our ass, Tommy.

_
♪

Erik has a natural acting talent.

I don't know if he could
make a living at it,

but as far as commitment
and enthusiasm go,

he was a star.

He told me his parents
made him withdraw from your class.

His father didn't think
acting was good enough

for his son.

I felt terrible for Erik.

It was like he had the life
knocked out of him.

Did he ever talk about
his life at home? His dad?

I never got the sense
he found much joy there.

He had ways of communicating
his unhappiness.

One time, he surprised the class
with a soliloquy from "Richard II."

I have been studying

how I may compare this prison

where I live unto the world.

And for, because the world
is populous,

and here is not a creature but myself,

I cannot do it.

Yet I'll hammer it out.

Thoughts tending to ambition,

they do plot unlikely wonders:

How these vain, weak nails

may tear a passage
through the flinty ribs

of this hard world,
my ragged prison walls,

and, for they cannot,

die in their own pride.

[applause]

[melancholy music]

♪

The class was mesmerized.

It's about King Richard's
loneliness in prison.

When I asked him
why he chose that piece,

he said it was because I'd said
how difficult it was.

Especially for him.

Why especially?

He has dyslexia.

Really?

He never mentioned it.

The school didn't know, either.

When I asked his mother,

she said he'd been diagnosed
years earlier.

His mother never told the school?

She acted like his dyslexia
was an embarrassment.

It's too bad.

There was so much
we could've done for Erik.

_

Sounds like it would've
been Jose's idea

not to inform the school.

Kitty deferred to him on all things
that concerned their sons.

I'm really trying to get a fix
on what kind of a mother she was.

So why did she come to see you?

Depression.

She found out her husband
had multiple affairs.

She blamed her sons for getting
in between her and Jose.

Her whole world revolved around Jose.

I didn't get any sleep last night.

You know I've had insomnia
for weeks now.

[sighs]

Just when I was dozing off,

I hear Erik screaming in his bedroom.

What happened?

[sighs] I thought, "Jesus Christ",

he's gonna wake up Jose."

So much racket.

So I went in his room.

Was Erik okay?

[haunting music]

He was fine.

♪

It was just a nightmare.

But from the way he was shaking...

What'd you do?

♪

I didn't do anything to him.

It was just a nightmare.

I meant, "What did you do
to comfort him?"

♪

I took him to his bathroom
and made him take a cold shower.

Like my father used to do

with my brothers
when they had nightmares.

♪

How comforting.

Did she ever hint, or imply,

that Erik was sexually abused
by Mr. Menendez?

No.

But she once told me there were
"sick secrets" in the house.

She never would explain
what she meant.

Just talked to Erik's doctor
and his tennis coaches.

They didn't see any evidence
of sex abuse.

And he never said anything to them.

It's hard to imagine,
if it went on as long

as Erik says, his mother
wouldn't have noticed

and done something.

I can't figure Kitty out.

She told her shrink
their family had "sick secrets,"

but didn't say what.

Maybe Kitty didn't understand.

Maybe she was afraid.

I don't think she had
a maternal bone in her body,

but we need this to make sense to us,
never mind the jury.

[beeping]

Oh, fantastic.

Diane Sawyer has an interview
with our favorite whack-a-doo.

Judalon?

Yeah. Just aired
on the east coast.

It's explosive.
[sighs]

Are Lyle and Erik Menendez guilty?

Did they murder their parents?

Yes, they did.

You know this?

Yes, I heard it from their own mouths

that they killed their parents.

What did she say?
What did she say?

Mentiras, Mama.
It's just mentiras.

She says that at
Dr. Oziel's request,

she was right up there
in his fourth-floor office,

listening in the next room

when Erik and Lyle met with Oziel

on that Halloween night last year.

I can't believe
Grandma's watching this.

Aunt Terry, Aunt Marta,

our whole family's watching
this, Lyle.

Erik said that Lyle
made him take the first shot.

One of the things that Lyle said

that was really disturbing to me was

"Well, for once,
my father would have to

congratulate me on
planning the perfect murder."

- Dios mio.
- Carlos.

We don't know it's the truth.

For what would they kill
their parents?

$14 million.

Erik and Lyle had no idea about money.

They thought it grew on trees.

Shame on you for believing a
stranger over your own nephews.

Family is everything.

That's what Jose would say.

Why didn't Dr. Oziel
go to the police?

There was the issue
of doctor-patient privilege

and Jerry made audio notes.

He has tapes of Lyle and Erik
confessing

And indeed, that tip
from Judalon Smyth

led police to Dr. Oziel's home

and bank vault,

where they confiscated
17 tape recordings.

That's it.

There's no question they did it.

Now, Lyle,
this is a diabolical creature.

Jerry compared him to Ted Bundy.

What are they gonna think of us?

It's gonna be okay, Erik.

We just need to...

To...

[breathes raggedly]

Just keep it together, Erik.

[somber music]

♪

She gave an interview to Diane Sawyer.

Today she's in "Vanity Fair,"

spewing her lies to Dominick Dunne,

all with the DA's blessing.

The jury pool is
being poisoned, Your Honor.

These interviews
are as much a shock to us

as they are to the defense.

Come on, Pam.
The DA himself appeared

on Diane Sawyer's show.

Your Honor, Judalon Smyth
has half the county believing

there is a taped confession
by my clients.

Dr. Oziel's tapes
are compromised.

The only fair thing is for you
to reverse your decision

and keep the tapes out.

Nice try, Ms. Abramson.

Maybe what needs to happen

is for you and Ms. Ferrero

to work out a plea bargain.

This crime so offends
the district attorney,

I can't imagine anything

Miss Abramson has to offer
would satisfy us.

Ms. Ferrero has no qualms

making deals with contract killers
and serial rapists.

Her cynicism is what's offensive.

She said I was the worst sex
of her life.

That's defamation, Ross,
not to mention

physically impossible.

It's not worth it, Jerry.

I'm sorry. I have to go.

[sighs]

[grunting]

My father had this creed
he made us learn.

"Today, I will be master
of my emotions.

"If I feel depressed, I will sing.

"If I feel sad, I will laugh.

"If I feel fear, I will plunge ahead.

I will be master
of my emotions."

And why was mastering
your emotions important?

Dad thought it was a sign of weakness

to show emotion.

We had to be strong.

That's why Erik and I
never told anyone

what was happening to us.

To him.

You said "us."

What was happening to you?

I'm only here to listen, Lyle.

I know you're in pain.

Vicary thinks that I can help you,

and I think I can.

But that first step has to be yours.

It wasn't right.

Parents aren't supposed to...

She'd make me touch her.

♪

Your mother.

Yes.

When I was 11,

she'd make me come into her bed

and do things to her

I knew I shouldn't be doing.

♪

I knew there was
something off about her,

but I never would've guessed that.

So Erik was abused by his father

from the age of six,
and Lyle was abused at...

11 by his mother.

Even in its perversity,
it doesn't make sense.

Like there's a piece missing.

There is.

Jon and I feel that Lyle
was abused by Jose as well.

Then why tell us about his mother?

Probably testing the waters.

A boy being abused by his mother

is in some ways
more acceptable to him.

Devil's advocate:
Maybe the reason

Erik and Lyle's stories don't line up

is the same reason
we can't find any evidence

to back them up,
because they are not true.

Inconsistencies don't mean
the boys are lying.

Just means that maybe

they haven't told us
the whole story yet.

Well, how long till they do that?

♪

Did you think about it?

Yeah.

You okay with it?

That's it.
Let's go.

[somber music]

♪

We want to tell our family the truth.

We don't want them to hear it
from anyone else.

Is that okay?

I think it's the right thing to do.

You boys made the right decision.

We'll help any way we can.

Thank you.

♪

This is good.

I needed to know
they would come clean.

How have you boys been?

Are you getting enough food?

It's fine, Aunt Marta.

Uh, there's something Erik and I feel

the family needs to know,

and, uh, we're counting on you
to tell the others.

Erik and I killed our parents.

[dramatic music]

It wasn't for the money.

Dad was molesting my brother.

- He molested Erik...
- Why would you say that?

The only thing your father
has left is his name.

Now you want to take that away, too?

Mom, too.
She molested me, too.

[cries] Did things to me t...

No, no, no.

Dios mio.

I don't want to hear it.

Carlos. Let them speak.

It is the truth, Uncle Carlos.

We want to take responsibility
for what we did.

But we want the family to know.

Mom and Dad did things to us

they needed to
take responsibility for, too.

So that's why you killed them?

[shouts]

Carlos...

That's no excuse to take a life.

No, it's not.

But we thought we were fighting
for our lives.

Enough!

I've heard enough.

[speaking Spanish]

Please. [Sobs]
We love our parents.

We love you guys,

and please, please forgive us.

[dramatic music]

♪

[sobs]

♪

The police have nothing,

your best witnesses,
Oziel and Judalon,

are pieces of crap on the sea of life,

and once the tapes are out,
Pam, you're...

There's no plea offer forthcoming.

Kids killing their parents
is a crime against society.

You said so yourself,

kids kill their parents all the time.

And in California, those kids
don't end up on death row.

What if I told you
there was sexual abuse

in the family?

Nothing you pull out of
your hat surprises me, Leslie.

Sorry, Jill, there'll be
no deals on this one.

[elevator bell dings]

Ira...

You are using these boys
as a pawn to get reelected.

It is desperate and it's unfair.

These are not violent people.

Erik and Lyle
are not career criminals.

Okay, look me in the eye right now

and tell me you believe
these boys deserve to die.

You know they don't.

Leslie, I speak on behalf

of every attorney in this office

when I say I've had it with you.

Call the deputies.
I need Ms. Abramson

escorted out of here.

You can't bully me, Ira.

- Let's go.
- Out.

It's wrong and you know it.

- Well, that went well.
- No, it didn't, Leslie.

It didn't go well at all.

We just blew our only chance
for a plea bargain

and now the boys will
go to trial for their lives.

[melancholy music]

Dad told me

if I screamed...

He would hit me so hard

that I would never be able
to cry or scream again.

Imagine that I had a gun to my head.

[sniffs] That was the fear that I had.

I live with that fear every day.

[breathing raggedly]

How could you?

You lied to me.

Jamie, please.

You killed your parents!

And you're still lying.

You're sick.

[ominous music]

♪

[rips paper]

Jamie, I understand.

You have to do what's right for you.

You've been a part
of this family for so...

Jamie's moving out of the guest house.

She doesn't want to see Lyle anymore.

I know this all
must have been very confusing.

Mom...

What Erik said about Uncle Jose...

It's true.

[somber music]

Erik made me promise

not to tell my mom about the massages

that his dad was giving him.

It was a pinky promise,

but I was ten, so I thought...

We know about pinky promises.

So, when you would visit

your Uncle Jose and your Aunt Kitty,

did your Uncle Jose
do anything to you?

No.

Did you notice anything else?

Thing that might have
made you uncomfortable?

♪

Uh...
[clears throat]

Well, this one time, before bed,

Uncle Jose took Erik and Lyle
into the bathroom

to take a shower together.

- The three of them?
- Yes.

They had this shower with three heads.

And after they came out,

Uncle Jose took them into a room

to "play a game."

- What kind of game?
- I don't know.

He'd lock the door
and wouldn't let me play.

They were in there for almost an hour.

♪

- [crying]
- What'd you play?

♪

What do you play?

[sniffs]

♪

[cries]

♪

He went right to bed.

He didn't talk.

Well, thank you, Andy.
You've been very brave.

And we'll talk more later.

Until then, don't discuss this
with anyone, okay?

Marta, you too.

Okay.

[somber music]

♪

_

Here you go.

- Ma'am.
- Thank you.

Are you kidding me?

They upheld Albracht's decision.

The tapes are in.
All of 'em.

It gets worse. They're releasing

Oziel and Judalon's sealed testimony.

Well...

I can think of one person
who will be more pissed

about this than we are.

It is outrageous

that the court released testimony

given under seal,

so I feel compelled
to address the lies

Judalon Smyth told in court.

First of all...

I never asked her
to eavesdrop on my patients.

I never disclosed to her
the contents of any session.

I never hypnotized her
or gave her drugs.

None of her accusations are true.

She wasn't even my patient.

That's all we have to say.

Before I leave,

I'd like to send a message

to Erik and Lyle,

tell them I'm thinking of them,
I care for them a great deal,

and I wish Leslie Abramson
the best of luck in defending them.

If Dr. Oziel wants to be
helpful to the boys,

tell him to go kill himself.

You have messages from

Soble at the "Times,"

Brand from the "Miami Herald"...

- Has Tim called?
- No, but your brother did.

717?
That's not his area code.

He said that's the number
you asked him for.

[dramatic music]

♪

[phone rings]

Hello?

Uh, hi.
This is Leslie Abramson.

Is this Sol?

Because Jose died first,

the estate passed to Kitty,

before she was killed.

Now, those boys can't profit
from their crime,

so the estate

goes to Kitty's immediate family.

To us.

Those boys get nothing.

But they haven't been convicted.

They confessed.
See, that's why

we have to file the lawsuit
as soon as possible.

So they don't waste it all.

They need to pay for their sins.

They are our nephews, Milton!

Kids who I believe
were terribly abused.

That's all a bunch of crap.

We're done with these brats.

So you can be
that cold-blooded?

Who you calling cold-blooded?

I want you out of my house.

Both of you.

[dramatic music]

♪

It's unbelievable, what money can do.

♪

Uncle Brian doesn't know
what he's talking about.

What do you mean?

♪

I spent the summer at Uncle Jose

and Aunt Kitty's house

when I was 15.
Lyle was eight.

He told me what Uncle Jose
was doing to him.

I told Aunt Kitty.
She called me a little liar

and dragged him upstairs
and shut the door.

We never talked about it again.

Did you tell anyone else?

No.
I didn't know what to do.

I was only 15. I was confused.

Okay, Diane. Thank you.
This has been very helpful.

We'll be in touch.

[somber music]

It's hearsay evidence

about what an eight-year-old
may have said

15 years ago.

It's not gonna convince a jury.

Not if Lyle won't admit
that Jose abused him.

Not even then.

Our show-and-tell for the jury's
going to be all tell and no show.

All that abuse.

There's gotta be something tangible
that Jose or Kitty left behind.

♪

- So who bought the house?
- A sheik, from Saudi Arabia.

You have the directions to Calabasas?

- Yeah, got 'em.
- The house looks

under construction, but it's okay.

You can put everything inside.

That's it.

Everything is gone.

[speaking Spanish]

It's gonna be okay, Nana.

[speaking Spanish]

He worked his whole...
his whole life for this.

I know.

All right, I got it.

_

I'm just a reporter, Donovan.

I don't have a dog in this fight.

The cops say I'll have to
testify at the trial.

[upbeat music over speakers]

I'm not looking forward to it.

Me and Lyle really shared a lot.

Like what, for example?

[sighs] Like, um...

Four months before the murders,

we were talking, and...

I told Lyle I was sexually abused
when I was a kid.

♪

And he told me he was molested, too.

By his dad.

Erik was, too.

I don't know.
Maybe he was just saying that

to make me feel better.
I don't know.

I'm sorry. Uh...

You know if he told anyone else?

No.

But I told Glenn Stevens
what Lyle said.

[haunting music]

♪

But I told Glenn Stevens
what Lyle said.

I spoke to Stevens.
He wouldn't let me tape him,

but I took notes,

and he confirmed that
Goodreau told him

about Lyle and his father.

Do you think Stevens would testify?

He was pretty clear he wouldn't
unless he was forced to.

All right.
Thank you, Mr. Rand.

Mmhmm.

I'll fly to New York and talk to
Goodreau and Stevens.

I'll go with you.

Well, it's Lyle's business.
I can handle it.

There's someone I need to see.

♪

_

[quietly snoring]

♪

[quiet piano music]

Is that you?

I'm me. Are you you?

Damn it, you still have my nose.

I thought you'd outgrow it by now.

♪

Nice to see you, Daddy.

The chicken pot pie is good here.

♪

Come on, honey.

And what if Lyle goes free?

Hmm?

Gotta think about that.

Are you afraid of him? Is that why
you wanted to meet in a public place?

He knows I know things.

I already spoke to Goodreau,
and he's willing to testify.

I just need you to go on the record

about what he told you
about Lyle being molested.

Don't you want to help Lyle?
You were friends.

I thought he was my friend.

And then I realized he was using me.

He gave you a job, Glenn.

Running a chicken wing shack.

Look, I've got a good job now,
on Wall Street.

I'm not about to give that up for him.

I mean, besides,

how can I help someone
who did that to his parents?

_

♪ Happy birthday dear Erik ♪

♪ Happy birthday to you

Thank you, Leslie.

It's just another birthday.

Oh, there's no such thing.

I saw my dad last week.

Hadn't seen him since I was 14.

You know how many birthdays he missed?

But that didn't stop me.

I got you a present.

We just found out today.

California Supreme Court

agreed to review the ruling
on Oziel's tapes.

Wow.

- Do you think we have a chance?
- I do.

They know the issues at stake here
are bigger than just your case.

[exhales heavily]

So, Erik...

I need to understand why

what happened happened.

Maybe if you tell me

the last time your father
abused you...

[dramatic music]

♪

It was two weeks before everything.

I got accepted to UCLA.

♪

I told my parents
I wanted to live on-campus.

And Dad said no.

And that he wouldn't pay for it

unless I spent
four nights a week at home.

♪

And that's when I knew
it was never gonna end.

And that's when things
started to get out of control.

How do you mean?

[sighs]

♪

We thought our parents
were gonna kill us.

♪

[mysterious music]

_
♪

Lyle looks to be about eight.

Erik's six.

How do we know it's them?

We can't see their faces,
just their bodies.

I compared them with photos
of them from the swimming pool.

Birthmarks match.
The floor matches

other pictures from
the Princeton house,

and the handwriting
on the outside of the envelope

matches Kitty's.

Well, I've taken pictures
of my daughter

in the bathtub, but these are...

It's kiddie porn.

Pictures of their genitals?

Like, what kind of parent
takes photos like these?

Someone could argue
these were taken by accident.

These photos were carefully
saved and catalogued.

This is no accident.

Leslie, I doubted their story,
but not anymore.

So, this is it? You've searched
the rest of the boxes?

I turned the house upside down.

Same as the house on Elm Drive.

Erik told me

that he and Lyle thought
their parents would kill them.

They were afraid for their lives.

That fits with what I've been reading.

Kids who are sexually abused
have no sense of safety.

The two people who are supposed
to protect them

are the ones hurting them.

It would be better if the murders

were a direct response
to an act of abuse.

Erik said his father last abused him

two weeks before the murders.

It's too much time elapsed.

So how are we gonna fit this

into a narrative
the jury is gonna understand?

We have to find a way through this,

'cause we owe it to these boys.

[ominous music]

The verdict was announced
just hours ago:

Four officers acquitted
in the beating of Rodney King.

Many blame the verdicts
on Judge Weisberg's decision

to move the trial to Simi Valley,

where many police officers reside.

And right now, we're getting images

of the reaction
in South Central Los Angeles.

Let's go immediately live
to the scene.

The situation here is getting more

and more dangerous by the
minute, as reports come in

of buildings being set on fire
and looting.

Merchants in Koreatown
just north of here

are reportedly forming armed patrols.

♪

Oh, my God, Tim.

What kind of world is this
for our kid?

All this hate and cruelty.

This baby we're adopting,
what if we can't protect him?

[sirens wailing]

[ominous music]

♪

People of Los Angeles
have sent a message.

No more disasters
like McMartin and Rodney King.

No mistakes on my watch.
Is that clear?

Mr. Garcetti, I have no intention
of losing Menendez.

Winning is a given,
Ms. Ferrero.

Bozanich.

I got married recently.

Bozanich.

You grew up in Palos Verdes,
didn't you?

Went to Wellesley,
all that fancy upbringing?

I need to know
if you can go for the jugular.

I was born to be
a prosecutor, Mr. Garcetti.

Tomorrow, we'll hear from
the Supreme Court

on the Oziel tapes...
I need you to get the trial

moved downtown.

A majority black jury

will see the Menendez brothers

for the entitled, rich punks
that they are.

They won't cut them any slack.

Leslie Abramson's office...

[exhales sharply]

They ruled out the December tape
of Erik and Lyle.

Am I nuts, or did we
just win something?

Don't count your chickens.

They're allowing Oziel's audio notes

of Erik's confession.

Well, it's half a victory.
I'll take it.

That was the last chance Texaco.

There's no court left to appeal to.

So now we know what the prosecution's

gonna do at trial.
We gotta build our case.

Sexual abuse led to the murders.

That will explain Erik
killing his father,

but until Lyle says
Jose molested him too,

the jury won't see the connection.

Well, he acted to protect
his brother from abuse,

just as he tried to
do when Erik was 12.

There are other ways
of protecting your brother

short of killing your parents.

The jury needs to see
the whole picture.

Both parents abused both brothers.

If the jury senses
that there's a piece missing,

that Jose molested Lyle too,

they're gonna think
we're trying to hide something.

So we can build our defense,

but it's not gonna hold up
until Lyle comes clean.

[sighs]

_

The grand jury has returned
two counts each

of first-degree murder,

and a charge of conspiracy,

against Lyle and Erik Menendez.

The district attorney
will seek the death penalty.

Judge Ito,

this is extreme and unwarranted.

The DA is overreaching.

Noted, Ms. Abramson.

Let's talk venue.

Your Honor, this case
needs to come downtown,

so that justice can be serve...

I know what you want,
Ms. Bozanich,

but the downtown calendar is full

and this portends to be a long

and complicated trial.

I am therefore calendaring it
for Judge Weisberg's court

in Van Nuys.
Have a nice drive.

[bangs gavel]

[dramatic music]

[whispering]
That's good for us, honey.

♪

I know it's a burden on you
to come here.

If you can only manage once a week,

I won't mind.

I'm sorry, Erik.

[sniffs]

[crying]

I tried.

I really tried. I just
can't stop picturing you

holding that shotgun.

Please don't do that.

It wasn't me.

I mean, I did it,
but it's not who I am.

Part of me knows that.
I just...

I can't forget.

[melancholy music]

♪

It's okay, Noelle.
I understand.

I hope everything
turns out well for you, Erik.

♪

It was so stupid of me

to say that to Oziel.

I wasn't threatening him,

but sometimes I say things
like my dad.

I just couldn't believe Erik told him.

I love my brother,
and this all started

because I was trying to protect him.

From your father.

Yes. He told me Dad was still
doing that stuff to him.

I d... I didn't know.
I...

And he was such an intelligent man.

He was... he was a great man.

Why couldn't he just stop it?

♪

When Erik told you, what did you do?

I confronted Dad,

and then things just went crazy.

We knew they were gonna kill us.

Dad always threatened that...

that he could kill us
and get a new family.

He had guns upstairs.
He was capable of that.

[music intensifies]

But I thought for sure

after I confronted him
when Erik was 12,

he stopped hurting him,

because that's about how old I was

when he stopped molesting me.

♪

And it all came out after that.

The abuse started when Lyle was six

and ended when he was 10,

and then Jose turned
all of his attention to Erik.

And 11 years later,
he kills his father.

Eleven years of scar tissue
building up over his anger.

It's like a volcano dome

building up over boiling lava.

One day, that volcano blows its top.

And yet he keeps saying
what a great man his father was.

Right, he's idealizing his abuser.

It's a coping mechanism
when the victim

is in an ongoing relationship
with his abuser.

I mean, in many ways, he's...

he's patterned himself after his dad.

Lyle said

he thought his parents
would kill them,

and Erik said the same thing.

Do you believe them?

I believe they genuinely thought
their lives were in danger.

Long-term abuse victims
are often hypervigilant

to the smallest threat.

They exaggerate them
in their own minds.

Thanks, Jon.

So now we have our last piece.

What are you thinking?

Imperfect self-defense.

These boys were abused
from the age of six.

They grew up with no sense

of feeling protected by their parents.

This is what a little faggot does.

Beaten into submission...

Fear me.

Terrified into keeping secrets,

sick secrets.

Wrong! What will I do?

- You'll kill me.
- That's right.

When they finally
stood up to their parents

and threatened to spill those secrets,

they were made to believe

that their parents would kill them.

A genuine

but unreasonable belief

that their lives
were in imminent danger.

[ominous music]

♪

So they shot their parents
in self-defense?

Imperfect self-defense?

I believe that.

Do you?

Yes.

And do you believe them?
The abuse?

[sighs]

[somber music]

Yes, I believe them.

♪

I believe in our case.

♪

- sync and corrections by Zac -
- www.addic7ed.com -